Earlier this week, Madison started having some eye-crossing again. The crossing can be a sign that her shunt is failing. So, we scheduled her for an MRI today (Friday) to find out for sure.The result indicates the need for surgery.

Her third and fourth ventricles are enlarged again and appear to be under pressure.Madison has a catheter in the right front that should be draining the area, but it seems to have stopped working.One possible procedure will be to take out the old catheter and replace it with another in the hopes that the old one has become clogged or otherwise blocked.The fact that both spaces are enlarged might be a bit of good news in that they are still connected.So, draining one space may drain them both.If they were not still connected, the surgeon would need to punch a new hole in the membrane that separates the two spaces.If the doctor suspects that the spaces are not connected, he will need to use an endoscope to take a look.Using the endoscope carries some additional risk of bleeding.Without the scope, she will likely be discharged the next day.If the scope is used and there is some bleeding, Madison may need to be in the hospital for three to four days for recovery.The bleeding is not life threatening, but they need to make sure the blood drains out of the ventricles without clotting.

The surgery is scheduled for Monday evening.We’ll post more when we know more.